


The Beautiful Colorful World

by Kiyoko18



Category: DCU (Comics), Nightwing (Comics), The Flash - All Media Types, Young Justice - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, Angst, Birdflash - Freeform, Birdflash Week 2019, Colorblind - Soulmate AU, Heavy Angst, M/M, Tumblr: Birdflash Network's DickWally Week, dickwally week 2019, light fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-30 19:25:02
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19409809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kiyoko18/pseuds/Kiyoko18
Summary: The first time they met, Dick’s world exploded into color.Literally, the instant they made eye contact Dick’s black and white world exploded into a spectrum of color. It was absolutely beautiful, and he could barely take it all in.“Can you see it too?”Dick looked over at Kid Flash. “Yes… can you?”





	The Beautiful Colorful World

**Author's Note:**

> For Birdflash week 2019, the prompt: Soulmates.

The first time they met, Dick’s world exploded into color.

Literally, the instant they made eye contact Dick’s black and white world exploded into a spectrum of color. It was absolutely beautiful, and he could barely take it all in.

“Can you see it too?”

Dick looked over at Kid Flash. “Yes… can you?”

“Yeah… and that’s a pretty crazy costume you got on there, Robin.”

Dick looked down at his suit and … wow, red, green and yellow, he looked like a damn traffic light. He looked back up at Kid Flash, who himself was sporting a bright yellow and red costume. “You should take a look at yourself, before you say that.”

Kid Flash looked down at himself. He blushed and ran a hand through his red hair. “Hey, I think it’d look cool. Especially when I run.”

Dick smirked. “Sure, dude, whatever makes you feel better.”

Kid gave an embarrassed chuckle before glancing over at their mentors, Flash and Batman. 

“Hmph, I guess Batman doesn’t have to worry about what his suit looks like in color. It’s still black and gray and scary lookin’.”

That got a genuine laugh out of Dick.

The two laughed together at Kid’s dumb joke, before Kid pulled Dick aside, out of their mentor’s view.

“Look,” Wally’s green eyes looked directly into his. “I hope I’m not being too forward, but you…you are my soulmate, so I feel like I should tell you.”

Before Dick could piece together what he was talking about, Kid Flash whipped off his cowl. “My name is Wally West.”

* * *

Dick didn’t tell Wally his secret identity that night. Batman had forbidden him from telling it to anyone. Wally actually was really understanding and didn’t push it. They got to know each other, and, in time, Dick told Wally everything. From then on, the two of them started a close friendship, and eventually became a couple.

They went on, joining the Titans and the Young Justice team together. They went walked in the park, with its tall, green trees. They swam in the deep blue ocean at the bright sandy beaches. Even in places as dark and grim as Gotham, they found beauty and adventure there. Fighting together, protecting each other, enjoying the beautiful and colorful world together.

They loved each other, through everything. The Light, the Reach, everything. But things got hard; Wally wanted to leave the life, and Dick felt obligated to stay. That left their relationship strained enough, but then Kaldur went undercover, they had to fake Artemis’s death and then… the explosion at Mount Justice.

Eventually it got to be too much, and they had a huge fight. Wally was pissed, his green eyes fiery and bright with anger. Dick honestly couldn’t blame him for being so. He had become the one thing he told himself he never wanted to become. He’d become Bruce. He had lied and deceived his friends, and Wally, because he thought he was doing the right thing. Wally had been right to be worried.

They didn’t talk after the fight, even when Wally temporarily came back to help. Dick missed him, his bright smile, his bright red hair and his beautiful, _beautiful_ green eyes, but Dick didn’t even know what he’d say, even if Wally even wanted to talk. So, they just continued with their radio silence.

Then there was that day in Antarctica, with the Reach and their magnetic field disruptor. Nightwing and Kid Flash, on opposite sides of the room, were watching Flash and Impulse’s efforts to stop the vortex.

The two of them had managed to slow it, but it wasn’t stopping.

“It’s not enough. I don’t think they can produce enough kinetic energy to stop it.” Dick whispered under his breath.

“Shut up and give them a minute. You don’t know that for certain.” Artemis hissed.

“We don’t have a minute; we need to get this thing shut down now.”

“Well, then what do you sugge—!”

Suddenly a red and yellow blur ran through the room.

**_Recognized – Kid Flash – B03_**

Dick turned around and Wally was gone, the transporters glow already fading.

Instantly, a feeling of dread had settled into Dick’s chest. He urged the others to get into the bioship and follow the Flash family to Antarctica.

By the time there got to the bland, white landscape, Bart, Barry, and Wally were already shutting it down, the vortex slowly losing its stability and with it, Earth’s magnetic field itself was stabilizing. This did nothing to sooth the pit wedged in Dick’s ribcage. _Something was wrong, but what?_

Then the vortex exploded in a bright flash of light, leaving the barren, colorless landscape. Dick scanned it for any sign of his boyfriend.

“Wally!” Dick charged at the spot where the vortex was a moment ago, looking for any hint of yellow or red among the white snow.

“Dick, wait!” Kaldur called for him, but Dick didn’t turn around or acknowledge him. He needed to find Wally first.

He searched through the snow, looking for his bright, sunshine colored boyfriend against the gray Antarctic sky, the plain white snow, and the gray glaciers in the distance. He couldn’t see anything.

Panic started to build in Dick’s chest when he couldn’t see Wally’s trademark yellow and red among the ever expansive grey and white of the arctic tundra.

Then he heard Barry call out his name and let out a breath of relief. Wally and Impulse must be with him. He followed the sound of Barry’s voice, looking for his bright red costume. He had almost gotten back to the bioship when he saw him and…

… _Wait_

_…When was Barry’s costume gray. It hasn’t been gray since…_

_…No._

Barry saw Dick and walked toward him; his expression solemn. “Dick…”

“No.”

“Dick, listen, please, Wally needed me to let you know….”

“ _No._ ”

“He was sorry he didn’t come back and talk to you after you two had that fight…”

“ ** _No_**.”

“…He was angry, and he didn’t know how to take back all those awful things he said, but he wanted me to let you know…”

“ ** _NO._** ”

“…He loved you, Dick. He loved you more than anything. You were the whole world to him, right to the end.”

Growing up under Batman, you learn to deal with tragedy. It’s how he survived losing his parents, how he survived losing Jason, it’s how he’s survived every single crazy, awful, disturbing thing his life has thrown at him.

Nothing could have prepared him to deal with this. So, he didn’t.

Even as the tears were welling under his mask, blurring the colorless, bland world around him, Dick sunk to his knees and into the cold unforgiving snow. Sobs started to wrack his body, his cries echoed of the distant glaciers and he buried his face in his hands.

He was gone. Wally was gone and with him, the beautiful, colorful world he and Dick were trying to make together. Everything was gone.

He was still sobbing, his voice starting to go hoarse, when Barry, Kaldur and Conner helped him up and back into the bioship.

Barry decided to head back to the Watchtower, where they were greeted by the newly returned JLA, and a worried Batman who just caught sight of his sobbing charge.

Batman and Tim rushed up to Dick, taking him into their arms. Batman glared at Barry, “What—”

“He’s gone.”

Tim and Bruce looked down at a still sobbing Dick. Tim gently took Dick’s face into his hands. “Who’s gone, Dick?”

“…Where is Wally?” Clark asked, noticing that Barry’s nephew was nowhere to be seen.

A solemn silenced was all that was needed to answer both questions.

* * *

Some time later, Dick came out of his room, having been moved by Tim and Bruce so he could grieve in private. He went to the observation deck and caught a glimpse of the Earth through the viewing window.

It was a giant ball in a spectrum of gray, surrounded by a big black void.

Dick hadn’t seen the world in a gray spectrum since he was a child, almost a decade ago. Seeing it again…

He decided not to think about it anymore, he was going to start crying again if he did.

Besides he had a message he had to give Kaldur, and Dick wanted to get it over with as soon as possible.

He needed a break. He needed to get away from all of it, everything that reminded him of Wally, or he was finally going to snap.

He knows Wally would want him to live, that he’d want him to be happy. If Dick is going to live in this colorless world alone, might as well make it as bearable as possible.


End file.
